—Lancaster Farming. Friday, April 12, 1957 14 THIS IS THE USDA lysimeter as seen from the top. The same crop rotation and soil management practices are used oil this 1/500 acre plot as on the surrounding field. The scales and other measuring devices are all under ground. (U.S.D.A. Photo) 65 Ton Block of Earth Weighed Each 10 Minutes by Soil Scientists ■- A 65-ton test plot, resting on jts own giant scales, is telling U. 3. Departmnt of - Agriculture scientists a great deal about what Happens to water after it falls to egrth. This 1/500-acre block of earth, Known as a lysimeter. is used at the Watershed Hydrology Station ijear Coshocton, -Ohio, operated by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service It is yielding valuable in formation on where water goes, ATTENTION DAIRYMEN Limestone Sand For Use W - D. M. STOLTZFUS & SON, INC. Asphalt Paving & Crushed Stone Quarryville STerling 6-2191 Reichard’s Hi-Available Liquid Fertilizer - Saves Time & Labor Lower Total Fertilizer Cost - More Even Application - No Storage Problems what it does to soils, and how crops use it. To the casual observer the ly simeter appears to be just a plot of earth -about six feet wide and 14 feet long bordered on all sides by narrow, ground-level concrete walls. But a closer look reveals that the walls go 8 feet into the ground. Earth beneath the block has been cut away to make room for highly sensitive scales and other measuring equipment, with For Your In Dairy Barns Cali Quarryville, Pa. >»♦♦♦♦♦♦< LYSIMETE iiiiii uMiuuuunuuununuwu CONSTRUCTION OF the 65-ton block of earth, called a lysimeter, used in soil water studies at USDA’S Watershed Hydrology Station, Coshocton, Ohio, is shown in this drawing. The underground plenty of space for technicians to take readings. The soil in the block is undis turbed except for the cutting around-and beneath it. Its surface is level with the surrounding field. Information from this lysi meter is representative of the en tire field, on which crops are; grown in a typical fodr-year rota tion. Year in and year out the weight of the huge chunk of arth is auto matically recorded every 10 minutes, accurately measuring the lightest dew or the heaviest rainfall. The scales and the collecting containers measure water runoff and infiltration (water absorbed into the soil), as well as percola tion (drainage of water below the root zone). Also measured by sub traction, is the loss of water from the ground and plants by evapora- \ New Large Capacity," helps you to handle baling jobs faster. Choice of Engine or PTO Drive lets you match the baler to your power. Efficient Pickup and Feeding takes heavy or light crops in stride. Non-Stop Plunger,, operates even during tying, for greater capacity, uniform bale slices. Mechanical Safeguards and rugged con struction help insure steadier, lower cost baling for more years. COME IN TODAY] LET US GIVE YOU DOLLAR-PROOF WHY IT WILL PAY YOU TO OWN A MCCORMICK BALER. PURCHASES DURING THE MONTH OF DISCOUNT ALONG WITH 2 BALES OF f* *\ wSS wmmmmmmmmm tion and -transpiration (release of water fronuthe plant leaf pores). Tests of water drained into the collecting tanks underground tell how much of various nutrients, percolate through. Among other things,, the lysi meter has shown the importance of moisture condensed from the air about 2.5 tons per acre on an average summer evening which totals over six inches in a year. Tests showed that in August 1951 at the Station, dew supplied three times as much moisture as rainfall. With the lysimeter it is pos sible to relate land-management practices to moisture conserva tion and use. USDA scientists at the station found,'on a small wat ershed planted to corn, that con tour farming slows down the run off from a rain, so that the soil can take in more water. In anoth- McCORMICK FARM EQUIPMENT STORE 1054 S. STATE ST. . Ephrata, Pa. Phone RE-32283 scales and other measuring devices measure water runoff, infiltration, and percolation, was well as loss of water by evaporation and transpiration. (U.S.D.A, Photo.) I er test on a watershed they found that applying'a manure mulch to a cornfield following the first cultivation resulted in a three fold increase in the water stored in the topsoil. The lysimeter studies, used with field studies on watersheds, show how ancTwhy these treatments effect the dis posal of water. The Coshocton records show that of Ohio’s average 38 inches of rainfall, 13 inches ordinarily go by surface runoif or by soil percolation into the stream flow, and is' inches go into the air by evapo-transpiration from soil and plants. USDA scientists continue to analyze information obtained from the lysimeter in order to widen the application of test re sults. _Their studies are aimed at developing ways of helping the soil make better use of water. * Simple Knotters, .tie firm, tight bales that stay tied: Knotters last longer and need fewer adjustments for “Miss - Free” Baling. <i,z& APRIL CARRY A SPECIAL MCCORMICK TWINE FREE.
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